A restoration for Iris

Discussion in 'Restorations' started by JamesLey, Jul 6, 2015.

  1. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Rear bumper mounted with stainless fittings (thank you once again to @paneuropaul for donating both bumpers to the project, lick o' paint and they came up quite nice):
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    Front panel cut and polished:
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    Spent a few hours wiring up the hella spotlamps. The relay plugged nicely into the bottom of the fuse board, I fitted super seal connections to the lamps to make them easier to take on and off (@snotty, I ended up buying a pair of the superseal crimpers as I'm a sucker for tools. Those connectors are a lovely bit of kit!). They’re wired to come on when the main full beam headlights come on:
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    Front bumper and wheel mount bolted onto the front panel:
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    I tarted up the rear of the indicators as someone in the past had painted the van with them in and filled them with overspray. A few coats of silver made them look much nicer:
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    And front panel all built up. I absolutely love the way this has turned out!
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    Hopefully driving through the new forest at night won’t be quite so terrifying now!
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    Buddy Hawks, scrooge95, Day and 15 others like this.
  2. Ditto-dat James those seals don't play ball. If you have a jalousie hope it goes in easier than mine. Loving your paint work, lovely shine and crisp lines.
     
    JamesLey likes this.
  3. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Already split a seal trying to get the louvred window in :( Bought a whole bunch more of it, but might shave off a bit of the frame in the corner where it was ripping.
     
  4. Very nice! You won't regret putting your spotties on :thumbsup:

    Did you find any of the crimps pulled out? I found the Superseals very fussy, even with the right crimpers.
     
  5. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Yeah, I had to play around with them a bit. the same crimp would pull out of some connectors and not others (tolerances I guess?). Got nice fitting connections in the end though.
     
  6. Not just me, then ;). Modern car connectors have such fine tolerances, the crimps'll pull out if you don't get them just right. As I mentioned, I had to do 24 of the beggars in the cab doors for the central locking. I've only just regained my sanity...
     
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  7. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    7 years ago we bought an old VW camper. Don’t think I’d done so much as change a car tire.

    3.5 years ago we decided to take it off road to complete a much needed full restoration.
    I can’t begin to describe the amount of time, effort, patience and money it’s taken to get to this point. My van related posts from the last few years give a bit of an indication of what it’s taken.

    Today that 47 year old little camper passed its MOT! I’m super proud of what we’ve achieved.

    Thank you Max, for putting up with an eternity of me coming home late at night covered in rust, grease and paint. For keeping me sane, not many others would. For keeping the lights on and our lives moving while I put everything else on hold.

    Adventure awaits.

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    rob.e, Skyelectrix, F_Pantos and 26 others like this.
  8. It looks fantastic (especially the bumpers :D).
    Your dedication, perseverance and skill are a credit to you. You have every right to be proud of your achievement.
    Well done.
     
    JamesLey likes this.
  9. Well done jim you’ve done a brilliant job
     
    Mellow yellow and JamesLey like this.
  10. MorkC68

    MorkC68 Administrator

    @JamesLey absolutely chuffed to bits, you should be very proud of what you've done, the bus looks amazing!
     
    JamesLey likes this.
  11. Top work ... now enjoy

    Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk
     
    JamesLey likes this.
  12. Outstanding work James:hattip:

    Bet you can't wait for the first camping trip:cheers:
     
    JamesLey likes this.
  13. Lazy Andy

    Lazy Andy Supporter

    Amazing news, well done!! :D
     
    JamesLey likes this.
  14. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Thanks for all the kind words! I may have shed a tear driving back from the MOT station, soppy sod. This isn't the end of the resto thread as we're still interior-less but having this thing on the road is just what I needed.
     
    F_Pantos, Coco and paradox like this.
  15. Suss

    Suss Supporter

    No interior?
    Get your finger out man. Don't know what your messing about for!:rolleyes:
    Seriously mate, well done. Well impressed!
     
    JamesLey likes this.
  16. arryhancock

    arryhancock Supporter

    Well done James, van looks fantastic, gives others including myself the push we need to get ours finished.
     
    JamesLey likes this.
  17. Brilliant! Well done James & Max, it looks fantastic.
     
    JamesLey likes this.
  18. fantastic job can you come over to Australia and do mine,im sure we could make room for you and max
     
    JamesLey likes this.
  19. Well done looks fab

    Sent from my JSN-L21 using Tapatalk
     
    JamesLey likes this.
  20. Day

    Day

    Well done..
    And an interesting resto thread, thanks for that.

    Enjoy your bus:thumbsup:
     
    JamesLey likes this.

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